Japan

News

02 Jun 2011
A research group led by Associate Professor Hideo Ohkita of Kyoto University has succeeded in improving the efficiency of dye-sensitized polymer solar cells, and confirmed the principle of selective dye loading.
02 Jun 2011
National Institute of Materials Science announced that a chemical wiring method has been developed for interconnection of each organic molecule by electrically conductive polymers.
02 Jun 2011
A research group led by Professor Kazutoshi Gohara in cooperation with Hitachi, Ltd. has succeeded in imaging individual atoms in single-walled carbon nanotubes.
02 Jun 2011
Associate Professor Keisuke Tajima of the University of Tokyo and his colleagues succeeded in improving output voltage of organic thin-film photovoltaic cells by tailoring bilayer interfaces under the support of JST.
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31 May 2011
A new lightweight web service interface for accessing massive amounts of life science research data across multiple public and private domains has been developed by researchers at RIKEN, Japan’s flagship research institute.
27 May 2011
A new video has been uploaded on the official YouTube "RIKEN Channel".
27 May 2011
RIKEN (President Ryoji Noyori) and LEPL-Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University* (TSU, Rector Alexander Kvitashvili) in Georgia signed an agreement on May 10, 2011 to promote research cooperation in the fields of genetics and genomics.
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27 May 2011
Identification of a key compound that regulates plant responses to wounding could provide benefits on three fronts
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27 May 2011
Revealing the inner workings of cells takes a step forward using a newly developed Raman microscopy technique
27 May 2011
A new research group, the RIKEN Quantitative Biology Center (QBiC), was established in April 2011 based on the idea that life should be seen as “dynamic biological systems” made up of elements which interact in complex spatiotemporal relationships, and that these systems need to be understood in order to gain a true understanding of life.
25 May 2011
The Information and Public Relations Section of the Waseda University Office of Information and Public Relations would like to announce the opening of official accounts on the social media (SNS) Facebook and Twitter, as well as on YouTube.
25 May 2011
Masayuki Ishii compares Japanese and Western approaches to aspects of life. Taking in both sports and the arts, he reflects on how different approaches can be equally advantageous in academia.
25 May 2011
7 Research Themes Selected for 3 Mid-/Long-Term Research Projects
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20 May 2011
Toyohashi Tech researcher receives coveted Japanese government award for the invention of unique color filter–glasses. Allowing those with normal color vision to experience colorblindness, the glasses enable understanding of problems arising for people with color vision deficiency.
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20 May 2011
An enzyme helps control the extension of cellular tendrils by regulating the delivery of supplies needed for growth
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20 May 2011
Identification a master regulator of the response of plants to injury sheds light on organ regeneration
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19 May 2011
A new gene expression technique adapted for single molecule sequencing has enabled researchers at the RIKEN Omics Science Center (OSC) to accurately and quantitatively measure gene expression levels using only 100 nanograms of total RNA.
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17 May 2011
A new comparative transcriptomic analysis of four vertebrate species conducted by Naoki Irie in RIKEN's Laboratory for Evolutionary Morphology strongly suggests that the 'hourglass model' is the more accurate description of how the vertebrate phylotype manifests.
17 May 2011
Ikuko Toyonaga, Waseda University, writes on the events in Egypt that heralded the beginning of the 'Arab Spring'.
Taketoshi Yamamoto
17 May 2011
To survive the period of change for the media in the future, Asahi should alter their attitude and release materials they have. To prevent Japan from becoming militarist or imperialist in times to come, Asahi has the responsibility for explaining to their readers to what extent they were committed in Tairikushinposha during the Pacific War.
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17 May 2011
Prof. Kuniki Kino (Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering) and Dr. Ryotaro Hara (Research Institute for Science and Engineering), Waseda University, have discovered a new enzyme which has been utilized to develop an innovative new industrial manufacturing method for cis-4-hydroxy-L-proline, an amino acid derivative.
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13 May 2011
Insights gained by the Biosphere Oriented Biology Research Unit into complex biological systems could revolutionize energy production and re-integrate society into the global ecological cycle
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13 May 2011
Assessing the chemical diversity of genetically modified organisms is an important first step for evaluating their safety
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13 May 2011
A single protein is sufficient to switch on the various genes that kick off the development of the embryonic nervous system
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12 May 2011
RIKEN (President Ryoji Noyori) and the Max Planck Society (MPG; President Peter Gruss) signed an agreement on April 27, 2011, to strengthen their collaboration by establishing a joint research center for systems chemical biology, a field that seeks to achieve a systematic understanding of biological systems from a chemistry perspective.
12 May 2011
Social Acceptance of Nanotechnology is an Essential Aspect of the Strategy For Research, Development, and Commercialization: An Interview With Masafumi Ata and Saori Ishizu at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
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12 May 2011
Researchers at the RIKEN Plant Science Center (PSC) have clarified a key epigenetic mechanism by which an enzyme in the model plant Arabidopsis protects cells from harmful DNA elements.
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10 May 2011
The whole picture of the damage is not clear yet, but coastal disaster professionals including myself were not able to specifically predict such a devastating disaster in Japan. Although I think there are many hardships in restoring the coastal areas, I believe that we are responsible for supporting restoration of the devastated areas.
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10 May 2011
A severe earthquake and massive tsunami hit the Pacific coastline of eastern Japan on March 11, 2011. A total of six nuclear power plants automatically shut down because of the earthquake. Power from outside the plant was also lost. Emergency diesel generators started operating.
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06 May 2011
Novel tuberculosis treatments could result from success in artificially synthesizing sugar-based structures of the bacterium’s cell wall

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Giants in history

Ruby Sakae Hirose (1904 – 1960) was a Japanese-American scientist whose research contributed significantly to our understanding of blood clotting, allergies and cancer.
Haisako Koyama (1916 – 1997) was a Japanese solar observer whose dedication to recording sunspots – cooler parts of the sun’s surface that appear dark – produced a sunspot record of historic importance.
Michiaki Takahashi (17 February 1928 – 16 December 2013) was a Japanese virologist who developed the first chickenpox vaccine.
Toshiko Yuasa (11 December 1909 – 1 February 1980) was the first Japanese female physicist whose research on radioactivity shed light on beta decay – the process in which an atom emits a beta particle (electron) and turns into a different element.
Baron Kitasato Shibasaburo (29 January 1856 – 13 June 1931) was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist whose work led to a new understanding of preventing and treating tetanus, diphtheria and anthrax.
By isolating soil microorganisms and studying the compounds they produce, Satoshi Omura (born 1935) discovered almost 500 organic compounds with unique properties that were produced by these microorganisms, including many new antibiotics.
In 1915, pathologist Katsusaburo Yamagiwa and his research assistant Koichi Ichikawa became the first to prove that chronic exposure to chemicals can cause cancer.
In 1915, Koichi Ichikawa along with pathologist Katsusaburo Yamagiwa became the first to prove that chronic exposure to chemicals can cause cancer.
Reiji Okazaki (8 October 1930 – 1 August 1975) and Tsuneko (7 June 1933) were a Japanese couple who discovered Okazaki fragments – short sequences of DNA that are synthesized during DNA replication and linked together to form a continuous strand.
Tsuneko (7 June 1933) and Reiji Okazaki (8 October 1930 – 1 August 1975) were a Japanese couple who discovered Okazaki fragments – short sequences of DNA that are synthesized during DNA replication and linked together to form a continuous strand.
Husband and wife team, Kimishige (3 December 1925 – 6 July 2018) and Teruko Ishizaka (28 September 1926 – 4 June 2019) discovered the antibody class Immunoglobulin E (IgE) that triggers allergic reactions. They also discovered that IgE antibodies attach to white blood cells, known as mast cells, releasing histamine, which causes allergic reactions.
Husband and wife team, Kimishige (3 December 1925 – 6 July 2018) and Teruko Ishizaka (28 September 1926 – 4 June 2019) discovered the antibody class Immunoglobulin E (IgE) that triggers allergic reactions. They also discovered that IgE antibodies attach to white blood cells, known as mast cells, releasing histamine, which causes allergic reactions.
Japanese chemist Takamine Jokichi (3 November 1854 – 22 July 1922) founded the Tokyo Artificial Fertilizer Company, where he isolated a starch-digesting enzyme (named takadiastase) from the fungus Aspergillus oryzae.
Hideki Yukawa (23 January 1907 – 8 September 1981) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949 for predicting the existence of the pi meson subatomic particle. Japan’s first Nobel laureate, Yakawa also expressed his support for nuclear disarmament by signing the Russell–Einstein Manifesto in 1955.
Shinichiro Tomonaga (31 March 1906 – 8 July 1979), together with Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965, for their contributions to advance the field of quantum electrodynamics. Tomonaga was also a strong proponent of peace, who actively campaigned against the proliferation of nuclear weapons and promoted the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Japanese chemist Kenichi Fukui (4 October 1918 – 9 January 1998) was the first Asian scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Together with Roald Hoffman, he received this honour in 1981 for his independent research into the mechanisms of chemical reactions.
Minoru Shirota (April 23, 1899 – March 10, 1982) was a Japanese microbiologist who invented the popular fermented drink Yakult.
Japanese physicist Ukichiro Nakaya (1900-1962) made the world’s first artificial snowflakes. He started his research on snow crystals in the early 1930s at Hokkaido University, where there is an unlimited supply of natural snow in winter. By taking over 3,000 photographs, he established a classification of natural snow crystals and described their relationship with weather conditions.
The techniques that make industrial pearl culturing possible were developed over a century ago at the Misaki Marine Biological Station in Japan. The station’s first director, Professor Kakichi Mitsukuri, emphasized to Kokichi Mikimoto in 1890 that stimulating pearl sac formation was important for pearl growth, and they went on to successfully develop methods for culturing pearls.
The field of solid-state ionics originated in Europe, but Takehiko Takahashi of Nagoya University in Japan was the first to coin the term ‘solid ionics’ in 1967. ‘Solid-state ionics’ first appeared in 1971 in another of his papers, and was likely a play on ‘solid-state electronics’, another rapidly growing field at the time.
Chika Kuroda (24 March 1884 – 8 November 1968) was a Japanese chemist whose research focussed on the structures of natural pigments.
Motoo Kimura (13 November 1924 – 13 November 1994) was a Japanese theoretical population geneticist who is best remembered for developing the neutral theory of molecular evolution.
Osamu Shimomura (27 August 1928 – 19 October 2018) was a Japanese organic chemist and marine biologist who dedicated his career to understanding how organisms emitted light.
Kikunae Ikeda (8 October 1864 – 3 May 1936) was a Japanese chemist who discovered the fifth basic taste, umami.
Umetaro Suzuki (7 April 1874 – 20 September 1943) was a Japanese scientist best remembered for his research on beriberi, a disease caused by vitamin B1 deficiency, characterized by limb stiffness, paralysis and pain.
Kono Yasui (16 February 1880 – 24 March 1971) was a Japanese botanist who researched the genetics of poppies, corn and spiderworts and surveyed the plants that had been affected by the nuclear fallout after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Hitoshi Kihara (1893 – 1986) was one of the most famous Japanese geneticists of the 20th century. One of his most significant contributions was identifying sex chromosomes (X and Y) in flowering plants.
Michiyo Tsujimura (17 September 1888 – 1 June 1969) was a Japanese agricultural scientist and biochemist recognized for her research of green tea components.
A Japanese surgeon, Tetsuzo Akutsu (20 August 1922 – 9 August 2007) built the first artificial heart capable of keeping an animal alive.
Ogino Ginko (3 March 1851 – 23 June 1913) was the first registered female doctor to practise modern medicine in Japan.
Japanese geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi developed the first method and tools for measuring carbon dioxide in seawater